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Tender Souls

Tender Souls is a short documentary about three San Francisco Tenderloin residents that live vastly different lives in the the same square mile and yet share a common history of pain and struggle. The film unearths the story of a man who has struggled with homelessness and addiction on the streets of the Tenderloin for the last 20 years, a mother and daughter making due in 300 square foot apartment all while navigating the unsettling nature of the neighborhood, and a community leader who prevailed from a life marred by death, addiction and illness to now serving as a public leader in the community.

  • Brenton Gieser
    Director
  • Brenton Gieser
    Producer
  • Tony Mac
    Director of Photography
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    23 minutes 43 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 16, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    1,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2.35:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Brenton Gieser

Brenton Gieser is a photographer, documentarian, and visual storyteller originating from Half Moon Bay, California and currently producing the majority of his work in San Francisco. He approaches his work as a personal mandate to help raise questions around social and economical injustice with a desire to move us towards deeper community understanding and social equity. His current work centers around a long-term photo-documentary called Tender Souls, where he and project partner Felix Uribe document the lives of a wide range of Tenderloin community members through a combination of spoken interviews, portrait photography and photo journalism. His work has been published by publications such as the New York Times, Vice, Upworthy, SF Magazine amongst others.

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Director Statement

We don't only want people to see the Tenderloin in a new light - we hope to do our part in creating a new relationship with our neighbors, with our selves.